Our insect of the week for January 27, 2025 is Cicindela sexguttata [COLEOPTERA: Cicindelidae]. This is part 7 in our series featuring local tiger beetles. This species was described by the Danish zoologist, Johann Fabricius, in 1775. You may well encounter adults of this species as you hike woodland trails in central Illinois. Just keep an eye out for a sudden flash of green along the forest floor.

This species has the common name – six-spotted tiger beetle. It may live as long as 3 years. The common name (and species name reflect the 6 white spots found along the adult beetle’s elytra.

The beetle shown here was collected by Mark DuBois in Marshall County, Illinois, in June, 20008. This copyrighted photo was created by stacking nearly 200 photos together to generate this single photo.

The copyrighted photos below represent stacked photos joined together with specialized software. The top photo represents the beelte in dorsal view, the middle photo is the beetle viewed from the side, and the bottom photo is the beetle viewed from the front.